Stronger Than Me
by ebi pers
Summary: It was over. Just like that. Zach observed the celebration from a slight distance. His heart was still pounding, his ears still ringing, his head still throbbing. Slowly, the teen sank to his knees trying desperately to draw fresh air into his lungs. Immediately after the Indominus Rex's death, Zach tries to come to terms with all that happened to him and his brother.


**A/N: Jurassic World was amazing and inspired my muse more than just a little. What interested me most (aside from pure dino mayhem which is always cool) was the various character psyches that I observed. The characters all have a lot of depth to them and the actors definitely did a fantastic job in characterizing those nuances. I just couldn't leave it alone. I would love some more prompts, too. My muse has been hyperactive with no real outlet. So please send prompts in a PM or leave them in a review or however you can get it to me (carrier pigeon works though I might be unnerved if you know my address..). If I think I can work with it, I'll write a ficlet and give you a shoutout! I could really use your help on this and appreciate anything anyone can contribute. Otherwise, please enjoy and leave a review. I'd love to know what you guys think.**

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 _First prompt (from an anonymous Tumblr user): It's not Gray or Claire or Owen who has a breakdown after the I-rex died. It's Zach. He tried his best to protect Gray and not show his fear the whole day. Now that's it's over, he can't do it anymore and totally breaks down on Main Street._

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It was over. Just like that. Over. Indominus rex gone without a trace. The choppy water above the Mosasaurus tank faded gently until only small ripples on the surface remained as evidence that the enormous, amphibious creature had ever emerged from the depths of the enclosure. The T-rex footsteps faded into the distance. Blue had darted away with one last, parting glance at Owen. The park's emergency lights bathed all of Main Street in a dim, eerie glow. The park was abandoned, leaving Claire, Owen, Zach, and Gray in the middle of what was once the resort's main thoroughfare. Now it was devoid of any living souls save for themselves.

Zach could practically hear his little brother's manic heartbeat as the boy took deep, steadying breaths beside him. Four pairs of eyes fixed nervously on the deep lagoon that the killer hybrid had disappeared down, somehow not willing to believe that it was truly dead, half expecting it to emerge from the depths and end them all.

Owen carefully stepped forward toward the precarious ledge where the Mosasaurus had dragged its victim down, peering over the side. He could just make out the prehistoric sea creature's dark form moving back and forth at the bottom of the pool. It was alone. The water was placid. Indominus rex really was dead. He gave the thumbs up to Claire and her nephews.

Gray let out a triumphant laugh, a celebratory whoop, and ran to Claire's arms. She wrapped the boy up in a tight hug, gave a watery chuckle of her own as she held him close to her, kissed his forehead, either cheek, ran her hands through his long curls, gripped each shoulder as if ascertaining that her nephew was in fact alive and in one piece before her. Owen rejoined the group, slung an arm around Claire's shoulder.

Zach observed the celebration from a slight distance. His heart was still pounding, his ears still ringing, his head still throbbing. He was pretty sure that he had broken a rib or two jumping from that precipice and into the frigid water and he was pretty sure he would feel it once the adrenaline rush wore off. He felt short of breath, like he might collapse at any minute. Slowly, the teen sank to his knees trying desperately to draw fresh air into his lungs.

And like a freight train it hit him. Bowled him over. Almost knocked him out. _Oh my god._ They had survived. _We're alive!_ His heart was still beating. His lungs still worked. He could feel every finger. Every toe. He blinked. They'd made it.

Adrenaline was a funny thing. It gave people strength beyond their normal limits, beyond their comprehension. It was what allowed firefighters to rush into the flames against every fiber of their being, against all human nature. It was what allowed a mother to summon the strength to lift a car off her child. It was what let a soldier run headlong into a battle zone and somehow maintain enough clarity to complete an objective. It was what helped Owen keep his composure as he stood in an enclosure with four, unpredictable prehistoric predators and somehow train the beasts. And it was what had allowed Zach to focus on keeping Gray safe, on getting them out alive when the odds were so stacked against them. He hadn't even thought about it until now.

It was overwhelming, the enormity of the disaster, the carnage crashing down upon him and for the first time Zachary Mitchell allowed himself to bear the weight of it. He shut his eyes, could smell the fire and the smoke and the feral odor of the dinosaurs and the sweat and the grime and the _blood_. He could see the faces. Of scrambling children carried off by the pterosaurs. Of frantic families torn apart literally and figuratively by the winged monstrosities. Of the ACU soldier who had almost made it into the ambulance, who had been pulled out of the vehicle by the velociraptor just moments before he could be saved. He could see Hoskins's look of panic as the velociraptor ripped him to pieces, could still see the man's blood as it painted the walls of the lab, the gore that he had only briefly glimpsed before averting his eyes for his own sanity. He could still clearly see Zara's look of fear, of desperation, of _pleading_ as the pterosaur carried her thrashing form above the same lagoon that was sitting before him now, the gentle lapping of the water against the edges belying the chaos and death that had taken place there just hours earlier and he couldn't help but think that the woman wasn't that much older than he was. That it could have just as easily been him that the creatures had flown off with.

But the images and traumatic memories were nothing compared to what could have been. To the imagined visions that flashed before his shut eyes. They were mostly of Gray, his annoying little brother who just a day ago he wanted nothing to do with. His dorky kid brother whose fascination, whose _giddiness_ at coming to this place had been a constant irritation to him. The geeky little kid he had almost lost today and now could barely stand to let out of his sight for a mere moment.

It was Gray that haunted him the most, even though the boy was barely ten feet from where he now slumped on the concrete walkway of the ruined theme park. Gray's paralyzed terror as Indominus rex first spotted them in the gyrosphere. His look of trepidation that rapidly morphed into panic as Zach told him to jump over the cliff into the water below. Gray glancing nervously over his shoulder, biting at his lower lip as they swapped the battery in the Jeep, constantly worried that the monstrous predator they had barely escaped would somehow locate them. Most of all, it was Gray's look of hurt every time he had intentionally brushed the boy off that haunted Zach the most now that he realized he had almost lost his brother today. They had almost died and Gray never would've known how much his big brother loved him. Never would've heard him say it anyway.

A second wave of paralyzing anguish-relief-disbelief struck the teen as he opened his eyes, felt the first salty tear drop down his cheek, streaking through the caked mud and dirt and sweat and blood on his face and landing on his forearm. Then the second. They had almost died. _Gray_ had almost died.

And dammit, Gray was the only immediate family he had. Mom and Dad were getting divorced. He knew that a long time ago when his father started sleeping on the living room couch and his mom started locking the bedroom door at night. He knew it when his mom kept taking calls from some woman named Susan and his dad started talking to a guy called Craig on the phone and all they ever talked about was how much the house was worth, the cars, and where Zach and Gray would go. They were careful never to spell it out, but their sons weren't idiots. But Zach had convinced himself months back that he was fine with it. Fine with his family being torn apart. Fine with two houses but no home. Fine with separate Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays. Fine with having to explain to his friends why he didn't live at the same address every weekend. Even when things weren't okay. Even when it bothered him to no end. Even when he lay awake at night wishing and hoping and _praying_ that this was temporary, that his parents would make up like they always did when they fought yet somehow knowing that things were well past the fixing point. That his family had been broken for as long as he'd been alive.

But Gray didn't know all that. Gray was an optimist. He had hidden from his parents' fights all his life, had always believed it would be alright. Had listened to the obscene words their dad hurled at their mom, listened to the sound of aggravated shouting, frustrated screams, doors slamming, cars peeling out of the driveway. He had carried the brunt of all of this and yet he still believed it was okay, still stayed steady when Zach had long since given up. Gray was steadfast, strong. Gray was the only constant in his life.

And Zach had spent most of his life pushing the boy away when he should have been pulling him closer, putting him down when he should have been learning from him, treating him like a nuisance when he should have been expressing his pride. Sure he loved his brother. There was never any question about that. He just did. But he wouldn't have been caught dead saying as much a day ago. Sure he had been furious when he found out Gray was being bullied in school. Sure he had assembled three of his friends and threatened to beat the ever-living crap out of the kid who was tormenting his brother if he ever picked on him again. But he would never have told Gray he loved him outright.

 _My god we almost died today_. _And it would have been my fault._

All day he had been telling himself to stay strong, that any fear on his part would be multiplied by ten in Gray's eyes. He had to be the collected, calm one so that his little brother wouldn't be any more afraid than he already was. So he fought down the feelings of panic, pushed ahead, thought on his feet, drew on every survival instinct he had every learned, called up everything he had gleaned from reading _Hatchet_ , from watching Bear Grylls, summoned every last bit of courage his being could muster and pushed onwards. He hadn't thought about their odds, their circumstances. He had gotten his little brother into this situation and he was going to get him out no matter what. Even if it meant that only Gray lived. Never once did he consider what would happen if his little brother didn't make it. But now that the danger was gone, he allowed himself the opportunity to think about it. To think about just how close they had come to losing each other forever.

The third, fourth, fifth, sixth tear fell, turned the dried dirt on his face into streaks, stained the pavement under him, turned his breath ragged and hoarse.

 _We'll always be brothers. And we'll always come back to one another. No matter what._

The tears were flowing freely now, blurring his vision, turning the empty Main Street into a foggy mass of lights, puddling at his feet. He pitched forward, sobs beginning to rack his body, shaking his frame as he shuddered and tried to hold it together but the exhaustion and the weight of it all overwhelmed him and he just _couldn't_ be strong anymore.

Gray was safe. He was safe. Aunt Claire. Owen. All safe. Safe to crack. Safe to let out everything he had been holding in for his brother's sake. It was over. He had to keep repeating that to himself but he couldn't think straight. Zach gasped, drawing in a watery breath as yet another sob shuddered through him, chilling his spine.

He tensed as he felt something grip his shoulders and momentarily felt panic and bile rising from the pit of his stomach, fully prepared for the sensation of dozens of sharp teeth piercing his body all at once. But the bite didn't come. Just warmth. Comfort. He hazarded a glance up and saw Gray leaning against him, slender arms thrown around him.

Zach allowed himself to lean into his younger brother's embrace, tears surging freely from his dark eyes as he reciprocated the embrace, slumped against the younger boy who didn't complain, didn't protest, didn't waver as he supported his weight. _You're stronger than me_.

"It's okay," Gray whispered reassuringly. "Nothing got us. You were around and nothing got us. You protected me."

The older brother drew in a shaky breath and mustered a tight smile as he searched his little brother's face as if to ascertain that the boy was telling the truth.

"You're my hero," Gray leaned his head into the crook of Zach's neck, resting on the teen's shoulder, arms still wrapped tightly around him and showing no sign of letting go anytime soon. The older brother shut his eyes, let the warmth and comfort and _love_ envelope him.

"I love you, Gray," he whispered hoarsely, voice thick as he fought down the sobs that threatened to choke his words. He was grateful that he had a chance to say the words he never managed to say enough.

"Love you, too," the boy murmured.

The tears left dark spots on Gray's shirt. The T-rex let out a mighty roar in the distance. The gentle waves in the Mosasaurus enclosure made a gentle, even pattering sound. The lights flickered momentarily. Helicopter rotors approached. Claire clung tighter to Owen, eyes misty as she watched her nephews embrace. Neither Mitchell boy took notice. Right now, Zach didn't want to let his little brother go.

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 **A/N: Thoughts? Sibling dynamics are among my favorites to write and the protectiveness Zach shows towards Gray throughout the film really captures, in my mind, brotherhood. Gray may annoy him and he may look at Gray as a nuisance, but when things hit the fan he knows that Gray is his only priority. And after this, I know he'll treat his little brother much better than before. I hope you enjoyed this one! I liked writing it. If you have any ideas, please send them to me either as a PM, on Tumblr, in a review…however! I want to know what you think! I hope you liked it and hopefully I'll be writing more for the Jurassic World fandom.**


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